I have been trying to make Yogurt smoothies for breakfast as a lower fat/lower calorie, healthier and cheaper alternative to Slim-Fast and others. Ihave a problem though getting that frozen feel to it. My ice cubes never crush up right, they either start melting or I just end up with a blended drink with smaller ice cubes in it. Any idea how I can get the ice cubes to crush up better?

prettyinpink, I don't use ice at all in my smoothies. Instead, I will slice up a banana and freeze the slices solid and put my yogurt in the freezer for about 30-45 min before i make it. Sometimes in the mornings I can't get the yogurt in the freezer in time to make it before I head out to work, but the fruit will freeze overnight w/o drying out or anything.

My blender doesn't really crush ice very well--same problems you mentioned. I used to whack the heck out of it with a rolling pin before I put it in the blender , but I found that just freezing the things I'm using works better.

I think the blender has a lot to do with it. I have gone through two smoothie makers that didn't last long at all, and then I bought an Oster beehive blender at Target, and think it's the greatest thing I've ever owned, lol. I can drop ice into my smoothie mixture and it's instantly pulverized.

I have two Braun hand blenders (one at home, one at work). They do a great job crushing ice...however I must add a caveat that I don't use the kind of ice that you get from a home freezer icemaker (my fridge didn't come with one!) nor do I use the kind you make with trays. I buy the ice that comes in the blue bags from the store - you know, the tiny cubes. I find they crush much nicer and finer textured than the 'homemade' sort. Although I also have to add that my favorite ice is the kind you get in airplanes - the round ones with the hole in the middle

Never before have I heard anyone discuss ice preferences! You learn something new every day.

When I make my smoothies I use half cup yoghurt, half cup water, 1 cup frozen fruit (mango is very, very good), and 1 scoop (half serving) vanilla whey protein. The ice in the fruit makes it fluff up beautifully. I usually use my blender (Oster), but have managed with smaller mini-blenders. But the minis don't increase the volume of the smoothie the same way.